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Why would a wild animal visit a playground?
Animal Adventures Unit | Lesson 2 of 4
Back > Share

Why would a wild animal visit a playground?

Animal Adventures Unit | Lesson 2 of 4
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
Scroll for prep
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DISCUSS:

Why do you think the bighorn sheep come to the playground?

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DISCUSS:

Why do the sheep climb up into the dry mountains every night? Why don’t they just stay in the park? Any ideas?

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Step
01/17
Get your supplies.
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Step
02/17
You’re going to fold your Habitat Journal in half along the thick black
line. Flip it over, line up the corners, and make a crease. Fold it again
along the thin black line.
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Step
03/17
Write your name and date on the front of your Habitat Journal. Open
your Habitat Journal so that you can see the page with Park Habitat
at the top.
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Step
04/17
You’re going to practice looking for animals in the park habitat. Look
for bighorn sheep, hawks, lizards, tortoises, and coyotes. Count how
many animals you see in 15 seconds.
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Step
05/17
When you see an animal, find it in your Habitat Journal and add an X
to the square right above it. If you see that same kind of animal again,
add an X to the next square.
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Step
06/17
You’ll have a minute and 30 seconds to find as many animals as
possible. Watch carefully! Ready, set, go!
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Step
07/17
Circle each kind of animal that you found in the park habitat.
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Step
08/17
Count up the total number of animals that you found in the park.
Count up all the boxes with an X and write that number in your
Habitat Journal.
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Step
09/17
It’s time to visit the Desert Habitat to see how many animals you can
find.
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Step
10/17
You’ll have a minute and 30 seconds to find as many animals as
possible. Watch carefully! Ready, set, go!
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Step
11/17
Circle each kind of animal that you found in the desert habitat.
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Step
12/17
Count up the total number of animals that you found in the desert
habitat. Count up all the boxes with an X and write that number in
your Habitat Journal.
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Step
13/17
DISCUSS:
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Step
14/17
Here’s what we noticed.
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Step
15/17
Take a look at the kinds of plants and the number of plants that the
botanist found in the park habitat and in the desert habitat.
DISCUSS:
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Step
16/17
We talked to a wildlife biologist who showed us these photos of
bighorn sheep in the park and the desert habitats.
DISCUSS:
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Step
17/17
DISCUSS:
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grass


1 of 15

a type of plant with lots of long, thin leaves growing from the ground
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cactus


2 of 15

a type of plant that usually has spikes and is found in the desert
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habitat


3 of 15

the place where an animal or plant lives
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desert


4 of 15

a habitat that is usually hot and that gets very little rain
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grassland


5 of 15

a habitat with mostly grasses and very few trees
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ocean


6 of 15

a habitat that is a large area of salt water
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rainforest


7 of 15

a habitat that is usually warm and gets lots of rain
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wildlife


8 of 15

animals and plants in nature
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predator


9 of 15

an animal that hunts and eats other animals
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wildlife biologist


10 of 15

a scientist who studies animals in nature
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botanist


11 of 15

a scientist who studies plants
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observe


12 of 15

to pay close attention to something
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graph


13 of 15

an image that helps you understand information
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diversity


14 of 15

lots of different types, such as many kinds of animals in a forest
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compare


15 of 15

to notice what is similar and what is different between things
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Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Grade 2

Animal Biodiversity

Habitat Diversity

2-LS4-1

Activity Prep

Print Prep
In this lesson, students solve the mystery of why a group of wild bighorn sheep would leave their usual desert habitat to visit a second, very different habitat: a local playground. In the activity, Habitat Scavenger Hunt, students record observations of the diversity of life found in the desert and the playground, as well as the physical characteristics of each location. Students combine these observations to create an understanding of how the living and non-living parts of a habitat support the animals that live there.
Preview activity
Number of students:

I have a Mystery Pack

Habitat Journal printout Print 30 copies
Habitat Journal Answer Key teacher-only resource 1 copy
Prep Instructions

There is no activity prep for this lesson.

Schoolyard Habitat Scavenger Hunt (Optional)

Since there’s so little prep for this lesson, we suggest you consider extending this lesson by having your students perform their own Habitat Scavenger Hunt in two different locations at your school site.

Instructions for this extension can be found here.

Exploration

10 mins

Hands-On Activity

30 mins

Wrap-Up

10 mins

Grade 2

Animal Biodiversity

Habitat Diversity

2-LS4-1

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Credits